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FABULOUS!

April 02, 2016

In honor of Museum Week, we are excited to share the story behind one of the most exquisite and rare objects in our collection: Austrian composer and pianist Johann Hummel's three-piece court suit, dating to 1810-14!

The ensemble was donated by a member of the Hummel family in 2009, thanks to a combination of perfect timing, location, and luck. Yvonne Hummel is married to the great-great-great grandson of Johann Hummel (1778-1837), and she had recently cleared out the family's property in Italy of furniture, clothing, and antiques. Yvonne lived down the street from the FIDM Museum in downtown Los Angeles, and her neighbor Mary had previously visited our annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition. Mary suggested Yvonne call the Museum to see if we would be interested in these family heirlooms. She made an appointment, but didn't mention what she was bringing. On the day of the appointment, Yvonne and Mary walked down the street with the donations in a rolling cart. Once everyone was settled, our curators remember Yvonne pulling the coat out of her bag, and suddenly everyone in the office stopped what they were doing! They thought there was no way it could be authentic, or a complete ensemble. But sure enough, next came the breeches, followed by the waistcoat...and indeed, it was a complete, elaborate court suit belonging to a famous European composer - in pristine condition, no less!

These suits are insanely difficult to find, particularly with the fine silver and gold embroidery, rhinestones, and sequins on uncut voided silk velvet showcased in this example. Not only did this suit walk straight into our front door, it is also completely documented directly from the Hummel family! In fact, Yvonne generously gave the Museum a lithograph of Johann Hummel with a lock of his hair, and a folio of original hand-written music. The music is an unfinished and/or unknown composition, but in another stroke of luck, our very own Associate Curator Christina Johnson is an accomplished flautist! Christina played the short piece for us, which you can listen to here: Download New Recording.

March 29, 2016

FIDM Museum is proud to participate in Museum Week, an international social media initiative to go behind-the-scenes of your favorite cultural institutions. From March 28 to April 4, a daily theme will bring you new insight about the inner-workings of our museum. Today's theme is #PeopleMW; it's an opportunity to get to know the individuals who care for the objects in our collection, curate the exhibitions, organize the budgets, work with donors, lead visitor tours, and all of the other infinite tasks that go along with running a museum.

FIDM Museum Curator Kevin Jones

We thought our fearless leader Kevin Jones would be the perfect person to provide a glimpse of daily life at the FIDM Museum! Kevin has been with the Museum since 1999; he began his career as Collections Manager, and was appointed Curator in 2002. He and Associate Curator Christina Johnson curated and wrote accompanying catalogues for the headline exhibitions High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the Haute Couturein 2009, and Fabulous! Ten Years of Museum Acquisitionsin 2011. In this #MuseumWeek interview, Kevin discusses the realities of working in a museum, why he studies fashion history, and where he finds our amazing new acquisitions!

The word "curator" is used a lot these days - what does your job as Curator of the FIDM Museum entail?

I mainly use the word "curator" to mean someone working with objects on theme-specific projects that have educational value. A curator does not need to be at an institution like the FIDM Museum, or even handle physical objects (think of online exhibitions), but does need to be an authority in what he/she is talking about. The optimal word is "educate": to tell a story and relay information in an insightful, meaningful way through the use of objects. I personally don't like to see the word watered down or used to sell merchandise: "I curated my Pinterest board" or "I curated my breakfast this morning!"In my day-to-day work, I hunt for objects for the Museum's upcoming women's sports fashion exhibition (opening 2019) and research the objects we already have for the catalogue. I also return a lot of phone calls to potential donors and set up appointments to examine objects either in our office or at private homes. I interact with colleagues on a myriad of topics, such as Gallery tours, travel arrangements, and loans to other museums. I also spend a lot of my time with our Fashion Council, the volunteer support group that helps us raise money for object acquisitions and project development.

Installing an object at the Bendigo Art Gallery in Australia for the Modern Love exhibition, 2013 (photo: Monty Coles)

October 06, 2015

While butterflies often symbolize springtime, lightness, and new beginnings, these pieces in the FIDM Museum collection refashion them as creatures of the night, equally at home in the darkness of winter.

Elsa Schiaparelli's (1890-1973) Summer 1937 collection featured a panoply of butterflies: they alighted on hats, formed rainbow-hued prints, and enlivened embroidery. In this ensemble from the following year, a butterfly morphs into one of the designer's trademark sculptural jacket fasteners.

Detail

Schiaparelli drew on a wide circle of artistic friends for inspiration and assistance. This carved and painted black butterfly was likely created by one of her well-known sculptor-collaborators, such as Jean Clément, Roger Jean-Pierre, or François Hugo. The ornament's lighter-than-air appearance belies the heaviness of ensemble, which is entirely hand-embroidered with thousands of ink-blue glass bugle beads; together, the dress and jacket weigh more than eight pounds.

Butterflies became part of the iconography of the disco scene thanks to Bionic Boogie's dance hit "Hot Butterfly," later remixed as "Papillon" by Chaka Khan. A butterfly of black polka dot net bordered by wire and black beads perches on the belt of this evening gown by Marc Bohan (b. 1926) for Christian Dior. Croquis

The tasseled, braided cord wraps around a wide, low waistband of black velvet for an obi effect, perhaps a nod to the Japanese-themed opera Madama Butterfly. With its exotic dolman or "batwing" sleeves--also decorated by tassels in the original sketch, above--the gown is ready to take flight into the night.

MulesAlexander McQueenc. 2004Museum Purchase2005.5.112AB

For Alexander McQueen (1969-2010), butterflies were not emblems of sweetness and light, but reminders of the taxidermist and the entomologist's specimen case. His fascination with the natural world encompassed its danger, death, and decay. While these mules may appear playful at first glance, the metal-tipped spike heel threatens to sting like a bee. This butterfly may be the legendary blue morpho, an iridescent blue-green butterfly native to Central and South America. Like many creatures, it is losing its native habitat to deforestation--a reference consistent with McQueen's dark aesthetic.

July 16, 2015

Ralph Rucci's (b. 1957) designs are as monumental as they are intricate, meant for a cerebral clientele. His inspirations often come from the fine art world--Cy Twombly paintings or Richard Serra sculptures. Rucci launched his eponymous line, Chado Ralph Rucci, in 1994. Its name derives from the highly specialized Japanese Chado tea ceremony, famous for having 331 intricate steps, which is mimicked in the complexity of his structural compositions.

Chado Ralph RucciSpring/Summer 2005Gift of Barbara Bundy2008.37.8

Rucci's uncompromising aesthetic, reverence for technical virtuosity, and comprehension of complex patterning garnered a rare invitation to enter the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture; he was only the second American to join this elite group. The simple shape of this shift dress belies its exacting construction: one-fourth-inch-wide strips of alligator skin are sewn at contrary angles onto delicate silk netting; the strips match up faultlessly at the side seams, creating perfect linear movement.

Luxurious materials and a well-trained atelier yield impressive garments with unavoidably high prices. Rucci explains: "I'm not for everybody.... I make the most expensive clothes in the United States, not because I want to, but because I want the best."1

July 07, 2015

Set between the glories of Napoleon Bonaparte's rule and Queen Victoria's namesake era was the age of Romanticism, a time of heightened emotional expression, intense nationalism, and widespread interest in the medieval period. Delicate bonnets and patterned waist ribbons with decorative buckles revealed one's knowledge of prevailing fads and enlivened an ensemble according to the wearer's mood or the formality of the occasion.

Fashionable dress of the 1820s and 30s relied upon body-shaping devices to achieve the desired silhouette. First, a woman donned a linen chemise, the undermost layer of dress, which protected the other garments from body oils and perspiration. Over this was laced her corset of soft, corded cotton, nipping in the waist and separating the elevated bosom by the insertion of a busk, a long strip of wood or bone at center front. In this example, the owner's name was inked on the side of the corset to distinguish it from others sent to the laundry.

Detail of 2007.40.8, inscribed "Harriet A. Simmton No. 6"

To keep the enormous sleeves of the dress from collapsing, large cotton pillows--called "plumpers"--filled with eiderdown attached at the upper arms. Corded petticoats were worn to support the full skirt. Like the corset cording, the insertion of cotton ropes into casings around the petticoat made the material firm, yet flexible. Only after these undergarments were secured was the outer gown slipped over a woman's head and settled onto this ideal foundation.

Europec. 1836-37Museum Purchase2009.5.66

The extreme breadth of the sleeves of this silk taffeta day dress represents the last vestige of the "imbecile" style. The shoulders have been banded down in tight pleats which, over the next few years, would elongate and push the fullness down the arms. The bodice is stiffened with a built-in, thick wooden busk at center front, anticipating the boning that defined the female torso for the rest of the century. The striking color--variously described as "amber," "apricot," and "citron" in fashion periodicals--was symbolically linked to the sunlit heavens.

July 02, 2015

Society ladies maintained highly structured social lives in the years leading up to World War I, requiring many different types of clothing. After doffing her morning dress, a lady might change into an afternoon suit for a stroll, choosing an outfit that would stand out among the fashionable crowds strutting up and down the boulevards. The Bois de Boulogne was the most famous public promenade in Paris: Fifth Avenue in New York City, and Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, were its American counterparts.

Paris, Francec. 1913-14Museum Purchase2007.905.2A

Thanks in part to newly-portable Brownie cameras and lightweight rolled film, roaming photographers' candid snapshots of these style-setting women illustrated features in contemporary fashion periodicals. This avian toque and muff could not fail to attract the lens of a wandering shutterbug.

Paris, Francec. 1913-14Museum Purchase2007.905.2B

Formed by the iridescent breast feathers of male peacocks and ornamented with composite taxidermy heads, these matched accessories would have shimmered in the sunlight--changing from blue to green to purple--bringing to mind the expression "Vain as a peacock."

June 30, 2015

American clothing manufacturers looked to Europe for design inspiration in the years before World War II; London for tailored daywear and Paris for elaborate eveningwear. Not until combat closed France's borders were American designers, such as Claire McCardell, enthusiastically promoted by the press or fashion industry.

Claire McCardellc. 1950Museum Purchase2003.5.27A-C

McCardell insisted that her name appear prominently on garment labels alongside that of her employer, Townley Frocks. Thanks to this important stipulation in her employment contract, she became one of the best-known designers during the 1940s and 50s, helping to establish "The American Look." McCardell's clothes were easy wearing, comfortable, and affordably priced. They were often produced as coordinated ensembles, like this dress and matching one-sleeved wrap. (The striped textile is identical to the one used in another McCardell dress from the same era in the FIDM Museum collection.) Full of "McCardellisms"--bias-cut, mitered stripes, and asymmetrical closure with wrap-and-tie waist--this summer look declares McCardell's own creed: "It's freedom, it's democracy, it's casualness, it's good health. Clothes can say all that."

June 25, 2015

In keeping with this week's beachy blog theme, here is a very different swimsuit, made of equally impractical materials. The publicity surrounding the scandalous bikini (introduced in 1946) had subsided by the 1960s, but not the carnal delight in gazing on nearly naked female bodies.

Manufactured by Los Angeles swimwear company Cole of California, this bikini was likely not commercially available, but used for publicity purposes. The motif is analogous to the repetitive images of Pop Art icon Andy Warhol (1928-1987); its metal discs are machine-stamped with the profile of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) as she appeared on the copper farthing coin.

Detail

The none-too-subtle jingling of the "coins" announced its wearer's approach and humorously referenced the expense involved in acquiring the bikini. There is considerable irony in the fact that the stern British monarch would never have condoned wearing such a skimpy outfit, even at the beach.

June 23, 2015

It's the first day of summer vacation for FIDM students! Where better place to spend it than the beach? This Jazz Age man's swimsuit from the FIDM Museum collection is hardly recognizable as beachwear today. Gender-segregated swimming hours were strictly enforced along the coasts and at inland watering holes during the nineteenth century. As a result, men could swim in the nude. This practice changed by the early twentieth century, when men and women commingled in all manner of sports. Gazing at firm, muscular physiques in clinging, wet knit swimsuits like this one must have delighted many female beachgoers.

Generally, wool swimwear was unembellished; perhaps a nautical stripe or two was added for contrast. This machine-embroidered version is a rarity. Equally unique is its theme, Native Americans in mountainous terrain. The figures, rendered in alternating color bands, are identified by their eagle feather headdresses, and are surrounded by teepees and campfires. Unfortunately, the maker of this brilliant red suit is unknown, as is the rational for embellishing such modern sportswear with romanticized American frontier scenes.

June 18, 2015

Stephen Burrows (b. 1943) became one of the first African-American fashion designers to achieve international fame when he participated with four other American designers in a fashion show held at the Palace of Versailles in 1973. The landmark event--chronicled in the 2013 documentary Versailles '73: American Runway Revolution and the new book The Battle of Versailles by Washington Post fashion critic Robin Givhan--firmly established Seventh Avenue's supremacy over French fashion, and put the emerging young designer on the map, both at home and abroad.

Stephen Burrowsc. 1974Gift of Jo Holzman2006.871.9

This maxi dress--like another dress by Burrows in the FIDM Museum collection--demonstrates the designer's "absolute disregard for the laws of color," as fashion journalist Bernardine Morris put it.1 Each hue represents a different piece of fabric, which Burrows painstakingly stitched together for a rainbow effect. Bright, polychrome garments of wool jersey and double-knit were hallmarks of his body-conscious styles, inspired by New York's disco scene.

2006.871.9

Here, Burrows upturns notions of proportion as well as color, attaching a modified T-shirt to a maxi skirt. The same dress in a different colorway appeared in Harper's Bazaar in 1974; the price was $32.